Articles Archive - Page 79 of 154 - Pittsburgh Quarterly

The long and deep recession of 1930–33 finally ended in March of 1933. Once it ended, the Fed, believing that the economy could now—and should now—fend for itself, backed off. The result was one of the most powerful economic expansions in U.S. history, an expansion that lasted three decades. The short and shallow recession of …

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Nature

The Mysteries of Feral Bees

by Daryln Brewer Hoffstot

To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee, One clover, and a bee, And revery, The revery alone will do, If bees are few. —Emily Dickinson I am a failed beekeeper. I had two hives. One died the first year and the other lasted about five, from which I got beautiful honey, …

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Profiles

Ageless Wisdom: Carol Brown, 85

by John Beale

In part three of this video series, Carol Brown, age 85, shares thoughts on choosing a profession, living a satisfying life and building the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. The advice that I give my four grandchildren is spend your life on a profession that you really love, something that you genuinely enjoy. And if it’s something …

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Profiles

John Robinson Block, Newsman

by Jeff Sewald

My twin brother, Allan Block, and I are the third generation in a family business that’s more than 100 years old. My grandfather, Paul Block, was an immigrant from East Prussia, and grew up, through his teens, in Elmira, New York. From age 10, he worked for a newspaper and learned how to sell advertising. …

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Business

The Working Life

by Madison Nicole Snyder

Work is a fact of life for nearly 1.2 million southwestern Pennsylvanians. Some love what they do; others, not so much. Either way, work consumes a healthy share of their time and energy. Their weeks are structured around it. It’s what puts money in their pockets. What do Pittsburghers think about their jobs? Pittsburgh Quarterly’s …

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Regional News

Unemployment Down, Workforce Shrinks

by Julia Fraser

The temperature may be up, but the unemployment rate in the Pittsburgh region keeps dropping, closing the gap separating it from national rate, which it has long hovered above. Year-over-year, the unemployment rate in the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area fell .9 percentage points, from 4.9 percent in July 2017 to 4.0 in July 2018. …

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Events

Twilight Picnic For The Parks Raises $334,000

by PQ Staff

Twilight Picnic For The Parks, the signature event of the Allegheny County Parks Foundation, celebrated a final blast of summer under a nearly full moon at Hartwood Acres Park Saturday evening. Blue skies greeted more than 400 guests on the lawn of the Hartwood Acres Mansion, who enjoyed a delicious dinner by the big Burrito …

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Creative Capital

The Fed’s Act of Cowardice

by Greg Curtis

We are talking about America’s Monetary Keystone Kops, who have, since 1987 (when Greenspan became chair of the Federal Reserve), been masquerading as central bankers. (Or maybe it’s the other way ‘round, it’s hard to tell.) The Fed’s finest hour was saving Bear Stearns while wiping out its equity holders and senior management—that is, the …

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Profiles

Ageless Wisdom: Betty Lane, 80

by John Beale

In part two of this video series, Betty Lane, age 80, shares her thoughts on life and work from her experiences with the Hill House and community. I am excited about being 80 years old. It allows me to do all the things that maybe I couldn’t do when I was younger. I can take …

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Sports

Hits and Hugs: The Evolution of Roller Derby

by Teake Zuidema

Cheswick, May 12, 2018: It happens about 10 minutes into the first half of the game between the Steel Hurtin’—the A-team of the Steel City Roller Derby—and the Chattanooga Roller Girls. Three big Chattanooga blockers, arms locked firmly together, are just about to smack Zorra, the tall jammer for the Steel Hurtin’, when she makes …

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American Spirit

The Singing Barista

by Kate Benz, photography by John Altdorfer

No one complains when they come into Jitters Café in Shadyside for their frappuccinos and cappuccinos and caffeinated hot/iced whatevers and barista Liz starts singing. Deas Vail, Mew, Jon Bellion, Issues…artists with melodic vocals that she can harmonize with while she’s working behind the counter, pouring things like Lavender White Mochas and Gingerbread Chai Lattes …

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Events

Riverlife’s Party at the Pier Raises Over $250,000

by PQ Staff

The forecast for Friday, August 17 called for nonstop rain, thunder and even hail. That didn’t deter a sold-out crowd of 900 guests from dressing up in their finest Mediterranean-inspired looks and traveling to the North Shore’s Rivers Casino for Riverlife’s annual fundraiser Party at the Pier. The popular event, now in its ninth year, …

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Creative Capital

Bernanke’s Blunders

by Greg Curtis

We’ve assessed the successes and failures of central bankers in the 1930s. Now let’s turn our attention to their modern counterparts. I will argue that, unlike the earlier central bankers, whose record was mixed but a net positive, our modern central bankers have done almost everything wrong—and for 30 years running. To wit: Like the …

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Architecture & Neighborhoods

Car Cathedral

by Matthew John Milligan

Since its completion in 1931, the towering stone St. Helen’s Catholic Church has stood like a beacon atop Main Street in East Pittsburgh. Now it’s a car club and garage with country club perks. Diocese of Pittsburgh’s Bishop David Zubik announced the permanent closure of the church—vacant for four years—along with others in March 2014.“Though …

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Obituaries

Montgomery, Macino, Vento, Capretto, Marcu, Widdoes, Luderowski

by PQ Staff

Ruth Mitchell Montgomery, 101: Five years after she and her husband moved to Pittsburgh for a job with the University of Pittsburgh in 1956, Montgomery started the effort to create the Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society (now Chamber Music Pittsburgh), attracting the philanthropic support to make the dream a reality. For many years she ran the …

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Profiles

Ageless Wisdom: Jim Roddey, 85

by John Beale

In part one of this video series, Jim Roddey, age 85, discusses his contributions to Pittsburgh as a businessman and first Allegheny County Executive. My wife and I came to Pittsburgh to buy a company. We had promised to stay five years, but we’ve ended up being here almost 40. My advice to Pittsburghers is …

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Books

Pursuing Crime from Pittsburgh to Eternity and Back

by John Allison

“The Gone World” by Pittsburgh novelist Thomas Sweterlitsch is about nothing less than preventing the end of world as we know it. As is often the case in real life,Western Pennsylvania is at the center of the story. Key events take place in faraway realms. Covert U.S. military forces zip there via time travel, untold …

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Architecture & Neighborhoods

Frick Environmental Center Achieves Living Building Challenge Status

by Charles Rosenblum

Great architecture should be built for the ages. Imposing piles, whether in stone or steel, are supposed to indicate heroic resistance to the ravages of the elements as both practicality and art. And yet in the era of the environmental movement, some portion of this equation has been inverted. We now ask, what is the …

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Innovation

Work Disrupted

by Jeffery Fraser

The past and future of work collide on a 178-acre graded-flat stretch of brownfield in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Hazelwood. There, on what is known as Hazelwood Green, the skeletal remains of Mill 19 stand as one of the last reminders of the Jones and Laughlin steel works that spanned the Monongahela River to the …

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Creative Capital

Why Gold Had to Go

by Greg Curtis

The “gold standard,” which prevailed in the developed world for many decades, simply means that some fraction of a country’s paper currency has to be backed by—that is, convertible into—gold. In the U.S. that fraction was 40 percent. Since a government on the gold standard can’t print money without increasing its gold reserves, society-destroying events …

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Travel

Synagogues Around the World

by David Aschkenas

For the past seven years, a Pittsburgh photographer has been working on a personal project: Capturing the beauty of synagogues in Europe. Experience the architecture and history of synagogues from Prague, Budapest, Kracow, Amsterdam, Venice, and Florence in this photo collection by David Aschkenas. View more of David Aschkenas’s work at www.daschkenasphoto.com.

American Spirit

Bob and Fritz Together

by Kate Benz, photography by John Altdorfer

Fritz is wearing a contraption. Two black, rubber wheels attached to a harness that allows him to bark and roll and bark and roll his way across the grass. He’s been wearing it for four years. Ever since he jumped and missed and fell off one of the concrete steps in the back yard. “Well,” …

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